Traitors

Bring Me The Head Of Matt Skiba (2004)

Scott Heisel

First off - Matt Skiba used to play drums for the Traitors, way back when. This 7" is tongue-firmly-in-cheek. That being said, it's terrible. But I think the Traitors would get mad if you actually liked their band. Their sound is that of really bad, really "generic"-sounding punk rock. It's sloppy, it's alcohol-induced, it's the type of band that you only watch if your friend's in the group [and even then it's a stretch]. The three songs on here all contain some of the most laughably bad lyrics ever. A sample from the title track:

"Bring me the head of Matt Skiba
This town's getting kind of dull
Bring me the head of Matt Skiba
We'll drink Old Style from his skull"

Shakespeare it ain't. The drunkenness continues onto side B, with the pairing of "Too Live To Die" and "I Can See Your Dirty Pillows." These gems include lines such as "I am just a fucking pussy" and "Dirty fuckin' whore - yeah!". This is the kind of band that you purposely like in your early teenage years just to get your parents mad. There's not much substance here beyond that.

I can't recommend this record for much more than it's novelty value. The title track's good for a laugh once or twice, but I don't see myself ever putting this back on my turntable for the expressed purpose of enjoying it by myself.